Agenda, decisions and minutes
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Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: An apology had been received from Mr Richard Parry
Hughes (Community Council Member). |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: The Chair, Mr Hywel Eifion
Jones, declared a personal interest in item 6 - Review of the Ethical Standards
Framework for Wales - Welsh Government Consultation, as he was a lay member on
the Adjudication Panel for Wales, and the Panel was referenced in the report. He did not believe it was a prejudicial
interest, and he did not withdraw from the meeting during the discussion on the
item. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items that
are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. Minutes: None to
note. |
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The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the meetings of this
committee held on the following dates be signed as true records:- ·
13th February, 2023; ·
18th April, 2023 (Special Meeting). Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting
of this committee held on 13 February, 2023 along with the Special Meeting held
on 18 April, 2023 as a true record, subject to the following correction:- Minutes of the Special Meeting 18 April,
2023 Item 3 - Allegation of a Breach of the Code of Conduct
referred to the Standards Committee by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Correct the first sentence of paragraph 6 to read:- "The Committee considered the written report of
the Ombudsman's investigation, the further documents that were presented
beforehand by the Member and the Ombudsman in line with the Committee's
pre-hearing procedure, and the evidence by the Authority confirmed that no
translation provision was available when the Member received the
e-mails." |
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To submit
the report of the Propriety and Elections Manager. Additional documents:
Decision: To approve the report on the outcome of the investigation of a
complaint against Councillor Louise Hughes of Cyngor Gwynedd, noting a minor
editorial amendment, to be submitted to the Monitoring Officer, Public Services
Ombudsman for Wales, Councillor Hughes and the complainant in accordance with
the requirements of the Regulations. Minutes: Submitted – the report of
the Propriety and Elections Manager detailing the outcome of the investigation
of a complaint against Councillor Louise Hughes of Cyngor Gwynedd, in
accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Investigations
(Functions of Monitoring Officers and Standards Committees) (Wales) Regulations
2001 (as amended). Further to the contents of the report, it was
confirmed that Councillor Louise Hughes had presented a letter of apology to
the complainant by now and that the suspension period had come to an end. Referring to the Standards Committee Decision Notice
(that was attached as an appendix to the report) it was noted that the first
sentence of paragraph 6 needed to be corrected to read:- "The Committee considered the written report of
the Ombudsman's investigation, the further documents that were presented
beforehand by the Member and the Ombudsman in line with the Committee's
pre-hearing procedure, and the evidence by the Authority confirmed that no
translation provision was available when the Member received the
e-mails." The Chair thanked all the members for their input on
the day, and to the Propriety and Elections Manager and the Democracy Services
Officer for all their work during the process of arranging and holding the
hearing. RESOLVED to approve
the report on the outcome of the investigation of a complaint against
Councillor Louise Hughes of Cyngor Gwynedd, noting a minor editorial amendment,
to be submitted to the Monitoring Officer, Public Services Ombudsman for Wales,
Councillor Hughes and the complainant in accordance
with the requirements of the Regulations. |
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REVIEW OF THE ETHICAL STANDARDS FRAMEWORK FOR WALES - WELSH GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION To submit
the report of the Monitoring Officer. Additional documents: Decision: To approve the draft responses to the Welsh Government Consultation on
the Review of Ethical Standards Framework for Wales (in Appendix 2 of the
report), for submission to the Welsh Government, with the following addition:- ·
To include elements of the committee's discussion regarding how
mandatory training would work in practice, declaration of crimes and enforcing
witnesses. ·
In addition, to note under Q6 (procedure to refer appeals decisions
back to the standards committee) that it was essential that the rationale
for disagreeing with the appeal tribunal opinion was clearly recorded, in order
to demonstrate that the appeal decision had received due attention, however on
balance, that the committee continued to be of the opinion that their original
decision should stand. Minutes: Submitted – the report of
the Monitoring Officer inviting the committee to consider and conclude on the responses
to the Consultation and the Independent Report recommendations from the Ethical
Standards Framework (Richard Penn's report) to allow them to be submitted to
Welsh Government. Members, specifically, were
asked for their views on the responses to the following draft responses:- Q4. Do you support the proposed
changes to the permission to appeal procedure outlined in this recommendation?
If not, what other options would you suggest? Yes. Comment: It seems
appropriate that the Ombudsman should be able to comment on requests for
permission to appeal and that the process should allow time to comment. There should also be specific requirement that the
relevant Monitoring Officer is informed immediately that an appeal has been
submitted as the existence of an appeal is central to initiating a period of
suspension or otherwise. Q13. Advertising
for independent members of the standards committee: Do you agree the
requirement to advertise vacancies for independent members on standards
committees in newspapers should be removed? Yes. Comment: The cost of such adverts are high and
anecdotal experience shows that most applicants come via other channels such as
websites or existing networks of Independent Members. It is of more importance
to ensure that able candidates from a wide range of backgrounds are attracted
to the role and so WG should issue guidance on inclusive recruitment. Q14a. Former
council employees sitting as independent members on standards committees: Do
you agree that the lifelong ban on former council employees being independent
members of their previous employer's standards committee should be
removed? No. The
strength of Standards Committee at present is that they must consist of a
majority of Independent Members who can without doubt be said to be truly
independent and politically impartial. Q14b. If
yes, what do you think would be a suitable period of grace between employment
and appointment to a standards committee, and should this be the same for all
council employees, or longer for those who previously held statutory or politically restricted
posts? Politically restricted officers should not be able to
serve as Independent Members. In respect
of other officers, the position is more nuanced but it is suggested that this
should not be allowed. If, despite this
view, WG wishes to allow them to be eligible then the period of grace for
former employees should be long to minimise the perception that former employee
is still affected by prior association with the Council. The period of grace
could be set as a fixed period say 5 years or could be flexible based on
(multiples of) length of their service with or without a minimum. Q16. Standards
committees’ summoning witnesses and sanctions: Should standards committees have
the power to summon witnesses? Yes. Comment: The same considerations apply here as to Question 5. Without its own powers of contempt, the mechanism to issue a witness summons would need an enforcement route, perhaps the power to seek a warrant from the ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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SELF-ASSESSMENT AND WORK PROGRAMME To submit
the report of the Monitoring Officer. Decision: (a) To adopt the following as the Standards Committee’s self-evaluation of
its performance in 2022/23.
(b) To approve the
following work programme for 2023/24:- 26 June 2023 Annual Report Allegations against Members The Ombudsman’s Casebook Welsh Government Consultation on the
Response to the Penn Report 6 November 2023 Register ... view the full decision text for item 7. Minutes: Submitted – the report of
the Monitoring Officer inviting the committee to:- ·
undertake a self-assessment of the work and outcomes of the committee
during 2022/23, and:- ·
consider a draft work programme for 2023/24. RESOLVED (a) To adopt the following as the Standards Committee’s
self-evaluation of its performance in 2022/23.
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